Artificially Sweetening Soda

[MacB115]

Hello! I made this account to post this thread.
A little background info, I've been homebrewing for roughly three months with two months prior or sidereading. I was recently diagnosed with cystic fibrosis related diabetes. Which sucks, because I racked and bottled my cyser about a week ago! :cross:

I've read up on the process of soda making (something I've wanted to do for a while now) and I'm of course curious as to whether it's alright to substitute sugar for something diabetic-friendly. Particularly, artificial sweeteners such as Splenda or Stevia. Also, if there would be anythings I should be worried about, such as unlisted sugar(s) or potentially high carbohydrates from soda extracts. (Looking at this one: http://www.homebrewing.org/Sarsaparilla-Soda-Extract_p_483.html# )
Thanks!

 

[dmtaylor]

Sorry to hear about your diabetes, much less your CF! But hey, great homemade sodas can certainly be made to satisfy.

If you can force carbonate, that's your best bet as far as carbonation goes. Then yes, you can go ahead and use whatever sweetener suits your fancy. Splenda is okay, but not as shelf stable as some of the others (I mean, it tastes weird after a few months in the bottle). The best one I have tried is xylitol, it tastes almost identical to real sugar. Stevia is too chemically for my taste but some people like it. If you haven't tried xylitol, do it. Just be aware that in excess it can cause some gas initially until your body gets used to it.

If you cannot force carbonate, you will definitely have to use at least a little priming sugar (real sugar) and yeast to get that. The other chemical sweeteners will not give you any natural carbonation. So hopefully you can force carb or tolerate just a touch of priming sugar, which will fully ferment into alcohol (only like 1% ABV or whatever).

But yeah. Go for it.

 

[MacB115]

I'll definitely give xylitol a try, then!
I have no problem using enough sugar for fermentation, but I'll look into forced carbonation. Thanks a ton! =]

 

[BubbleCrossed]

I would caution anyone with pets about bringing xylitol into their house. Reason being, it is a deadly poison to both cats and dogs. So if you have critters, and want to use xylitol for sweetening sodas or anything else, PLEASE do it in a place/way where curious critters can't get into it accidentally.

And if they DO get exposed, RUSH them to the vet, as they have only hours to live.

 

[MacB115]

Thanks for the heads up ^ wouldn't want to endanger any of my dogs